Food Waste Fiesta will ‘reassure’ residents over new scheme

Bournemouth’s new food waste collection scheme has received a largely positive response from residents, but the council has said that more reassurance is still needed.

Residents have been invited to attend a festival in the town centre this weekend to learn more about the new scheme.

The recycling service has received generally positive reactions, but there were also several complaints on the council’s Facebook page.

Bournemouth Council spokesperson Katrina Waters said, “We’ve had quite a few concerns highlighted, most of which, I think if people have the opportunity to talk to people face to face, would disappear and they would be reassured.”

“People don’t like change, it’s as simple as that, it’s human nature. You get people who are disposed to recycling and environmentally aware, and there are people who are not, it’s one of those things.”

The Feed Your Food Caddy Fiesta on Saturday will promote the scheme and advise people on the new system. Waste experts will also relay feedback on how the introduction of the scheme has gone so far.

It will also feature information on fair trade and offer attendees the chance to donate items to a local food bank.

“The idea is to literally make a bit of a song and dance about the new collections,” added Waters.

Bournemouth mayor Rodney Cooper will be on hand to cut a specially designed cake – which will be given out for free to the first 50 people to bring food bank donations.

Discarded food makes up 38 per cent of household waste – accounting for around 17,000 tonnes of waste – each year in Bournemouth.

All households will receive a weekly collection for all cooked and uncooked food waste. Waste can be left in either a small, kitchen caddy or a larger external container, both of which are provided by the council.

Food waste will be collected on a weekly basis at the same time as general waste and will be taken to Eco Sustainable Solutions in Dorset and treated by anaerobic digestion.

Bournemouth Council applied to the government’s Weekly Collection Support Scheme and successfully received £7.1m to deliver enhancements to the previous Big Bin, Little Bin Scheme. Weekly rubbish collections and the new food waste collections are part of these enhancements.